Every Day is Real Boutish!
by Harlequin Kitsune
Summary: What adventures are in store for Ryoko Mitsurugi and gang in their senior year? Somewhere between the homework, cramming for university tests, and surviving K Fights, they have to find some time to have fun, right?
1. Summer's End

Chapter One

Summer's End

---

Huhn. First day of senior year. Ryoko Mitsurugi and Hitomi Yuki stood a few blocks away from Daimon High, able to see the top of the pillar marking the entrance to the school.

Hitomi smiled softly up at her best friend, a coy look across her face. "Ready to see your adoring fans?"

Ryoko responded with a heavy sigh. She tossed her school bag from hand to hand, purple eyes not pulling away from the pillar. "Not really," she finally murmured. After another moment, however, she grinned, straightening her tall body. "But I can't keep them waiting, can I?"

Hitomi giggled behind her hand. "Right!" _I'm so glad, Ryoko,_ she thought, gazing up at Ryoko. After a moment, Hitomi grabbed the samurai girl's hand, running off to school with her.

After winning the final K-Fight bout last year, Hitomi had worried how Ryoko would take to one more year. She had always been an idol – she would be like a goddess now. Ryoko had also opened up to a new array of feelings – she had cried for her first time last year, as well as her second, third, and fourth times. The end of last year had been filled with so much stress . . . to see Ryoko easy-going and smiling again lightened Hitomi's heart considerably.

The blue sky flowed endlessly overhead. Ryoko kept glancing up to the cloudless expanse. She often glanced up to the sky – the heavens? – to think. She was much closer to it than other girls were, especially after her growth spurt over the summer, which left her just below six feet (a gap she often bridged with her high shoes). The thought of that steamed her up – she was almost as tall as that damn monkey.

"Ooh!" Ryoko grunted, fists clenching as the thought flashed through her mind.

"Ow! Ryoko!" Hitomi cried as the samurai's rough hand squeezed her own tightly.

The two slowed to an immediate stop, Ryoko almost falling over as she simultaneously opened both hands, bowed in apology, moved her foot out of the path of her falling book bag, berated herself, and tried to make sure Hitomi was all right.

"Uhg – I'm such a dolt! I'm sorry, Hitomi," she said as she took Hitomi's hand gently between both of hers, making sure she had not broken any bones in her rash motion. She sighed as she did so, thoughts back to the stupid monkey. Maybe she was just a wild woman, after all. She continued her own line of quiet thoughts, taking in no further thought of Hitomi aside from the feel of the girl's bones.

Hitomi's breath caught in her throat as she looked up tentatively at Ryoko's face. She could tell that her friend had only thoughts of herself at that moment – Ryoko dedicated far too little energy to thought to manage to think about others all the time. Her face was easy to read besides, and Hitomi could easily tell that Ryoko was yelling at herself. Hitomi could tell a lot from Ryoko's face.

From time to time, Hitomi briefly fretted on something Shizuma had said – that nature had made a mistake in making Ryoko a girl. If she had not been female, she (or, rather then, he) could have been Hitomi's knight in shining armor. She never regretted knowing this female Ryoko, and never _wished_ for Ryoko to be male . . . she just wished she could find someone like Ryoko in male form.

Ryoko's fingers soon left Hitomi's hand, and the smaller girl suddenly felt much colder. The chill of fall was creeping into the air – as was the thought that this was the last year of high school.

"Well, no broken bones, Hit-"

"Are you really going to America after high school?" Hitomi suddenly blurted out, cutting her off.

Ryoko started, looking down at Hitomi. "Well, uh, yeah," she stuttered, taken by surprise, "for a little while. For tournament and exchange programs and stuff." She put her hands on her hips, school bag still at her feet, forgotten. "I'll be back after a year or so, though."

"You won't forget about me, right?"

Ryoko stared down at Hitomi, confused. She knew Hitomi was prone to worried outbursts, but never anything like this. She could see the tears in Hitomi's eyes, tears that were usually reserved for when people were picking on the girl or threatening her friends. Ryoko ran her fingers through her bangs once, mind racing over what she could say.

"Of course not, Hitomi!" she responded quickly, waving her hands quickly for emphasis, just spewing out and doing the first things that came to mind. When she saw that Hitomi was not perking up, eyes still shining with paranoid tears, she fell quiet again, running her fingers through her hair again.

Ryoko sighed quietly, calming her body. She leaned forward a little, hands resting on her knees. She could not be a warrior acting on instincts alone with Hitomi – she had to be a great woman acting on compassion. Tatsuya had started her on this path, and she had to continue on it, no matter what. After a moment of composing herself, she took a deep breath and smiled warmly. She raised her hands and clapped them gently on Hitomi's shoulders, leaning further down to be eye-to-eye with her.

"Don't worry, Hitomi. I could never forget you – I love you too much. You are always there for me, and you always save me. I realize I'm lucky that a coarse warrior like me found someone as gently and caring as you." Ryoko lightly hit her forehead against Hitomi's and rested there. "You know one thing I'm afraid of, more than almost anything?" Ryoko paused a moment, as if expecting Hitomi to answer. When silence surrounded them for several long seconds, Ryoko laughed quietly and finished her thought.

"I'm afraid of losing you."

Hitomi swallowed hard as she watched Ryoko. She could feel a blush crossing her face as the two drew close. Ryoko had whispered one of her greatest fears to Hitomi. And it involved her. It was like some secret that was dark and immensely beautiful at the same time. It managed to draw the two best friends even closer, two butterflies drawing nearer to a dangerous but enchanting and honest flame.

Hitomi wondered if she should seize the moment and explain to Ryoko what was really on her mind.

In the distance, a bell rang, intruding on the cleansing silence comforting the two girls, and making Hitomi's decision for her. They both snapped their heads up to look towards the school just two blocks away. As the ringing faded, they shared a sigh. The double sigh caused them to look at each other, and then dissolve into a giggling fit.

Ryoko grinned as she knelt down to pick up her school bag. She slung it casually over one shoulder, where it brushed against the wrapped bokken she had strapped onto her back. She could balance being a warrior and being a woman, and she knew Hitomi could help her.

Hitomi rubbed the tears out of her eyes, smiling brightly. "Well, summer's over."

"Yeah . . ." Ryoko said, stretching her arms above her head. She then laughed and dropped her arm around Hitomi's shoulder, her other arm back to slinging her bag over her own shoulder.

"We're seniors!" she suddenly exclaimed, grinning broadly. "Let's make the most of this year, okay?"

Hitomi paused, and then nodded.

"Right!"


	2. Pop Quizzes

Chapter Two

Pop Quizzes

---

The pair of Ryoko and Hitomi were out of breath as they sprinted through Daimon High's main courtyard. Hitomi was breathing much harder than her friend, and her chocolate brown hair spread everywhere, stuck in thick strands from the sweat beading down her flushed face and hair. Ryoko seemed much more natural hammering breaths in and out, and her thick red hair seemed to flow behind her, ribbon catching most of the sweat, and her bangs collecting the salted water and tossing it from her face.

"We must look a wreck, huh, Hitomi?" Ryoko asked, between breaths and pounding strides, grinning brightly.

"At least you'll avoid a morning K-Fight!" Hitomi exclaimed between gasps.

At that moment, a yell filled the empty courtyard. Both girls skidded to a stop and looked around.

"Hiyaaah!"

Ryoko's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Hitomi around the waist, jumping back. Right where they had been, a booted foot slammed hard into the concrete.

"You stupid monkey!" Ryoko shouted, fists clenched. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Shizuma Kusanagi stood up straight, arms crossed. He towered up, out of uniform as always, trying to be intimidating. Just as he was about to smugly explain his glorious sneak attack, he stopped short, staring at Ryoko – right into her eyes.

"The hell!" he shouted in surprise, jumping back. Ryoko's boots gave her the extra couple of inches to be the exact same six and a half feet as Shizuma. "Damn! You really are a mountain woman!"

Ryoko raised a fist, body trembling. "Why you . . ."

Hitomi who had been standing dazed behind her friend, reached forward and grabbed Ryoko's arm. "Don't, Ryoko!"

The three stood frozen in time for a few seconds. Finally, Ryoko sighed and powered her fist. "You're lucky – I would of punched your lights out."

"If Hitomi hadn't stopped ya, I would've kicked your ass, samurai-wannabe! You deserve no less for mutilating my poor face."

Ryoko laughed. "Mutilating your face? You almost look decent now."

Shizuma crossed his arms, face screwed up in an angry pout. "I will get my revenge!"

"Dream on, monkey boy!"

"Say your prayers, mountain woman!"

Both lunged at the other, grabbing the other's face and simultaneously, trying to scratch, pull, and pinch the other's skin.

"Idiot!"

"Tomboy!"

"Neanderthal!"

"Sasquatch!"

"Freak!"

"Uh . . . tomboy!"

"GUYS!" Hitomi's yell broke through the impromptu insult fest, usually timid voice reverberating on the stones of the courtyard. She stood behind them, fists clenched and at her side, eyes shut tight behind her round glasses. Both stopped shouting, turning their heads, still grappled by the other, to look at her in surprise.

"We're late for class already, and both of you are just making things worse! Now stop it!"

The rivals glanced towards each other uneasily, then took a deep breath and let go. They harrumphed and turned away from each other, arms crossing.

Hitomi sighed as she opened her eyes, watching them move apart. A smile crossed her face as she saw them basically mirror the other's movements. Neither would admit it, but they were both very similar, cut from the same mold. Watching them battle _was_ interesting, but Hitomi much rather liked watching them sulk and act the exact same. It was far more amusing.

She slung her school bag over one shoulder and walked between the two fierce warriors. She took a hand of each, smiling up at them, and without warning began to march off to class, dragging them along. "Let's go!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice, as if there was nothing wrong in the entire world.

"Like we have a choice now," Shizuma muttered under his breath, looking at Hitomi with a soft glare. When had she gained so much confidence? It was refreshing to see her stand up for herself, and not to just help Ryoko – but why did she have to interrupt their battle?

"Look, we can set up some sort of K-Fight later if it bothers you that much, monkey," Ryoko snapped, folding one arm across her chest. She refused to look at him, realizing that if they were not fighting, she might find her stupid girly hormones multiplying and make her blush. Shizuma _had _grown quite handsome over the summer, especially with two proper eyebrows and his hair cut back down to a reasonable length.

Ack! Ryoko felt like slapping herself – why was she noticing these things about the damn monkey? She knew she had to move on from Tatsuya, but she would not sink down to Shizuma! She would sooner date her little stalker Daisaku than her brash, insensitive rival!

. . . right?

Brooding thoughts kept the two tall warriors silent all the way to the first period they shared. The two did not care how late they were, but Hitomi grew more and more concerned as they came closer and closer to the classroom. Watanbe-sensei was not the most lenient teacher. In fact, aside from Satome-sensei who had resigned last year, he had the cruelest of reputations among students.

Hitomi gulped as they neared the door. Watanbe had assigned a good deal of summer homework – which, knowing Ryoko and Shizuma, had probably say on desks at the two brawlers' homes collect dust all summer while the two ran about town becoming stronger. Hitomi was not worried about herself in the least – she worried for them, because they were not about to do the same for themselves.

The door loomed right in front of them. Without taking a moment to think about the consequences, Shizuma threw open the door, eager to get away from Hitomi and Ryoko.

He didn't get very far.

"So, look who's decided to finally grace us with their presences." The gruff voice caused Hitomi to yelp, Ryoko to freeze, and Shizuma to curse simultaneously.

Watanbe towered over them. For a professor of literature, he was a frightening hulk of a man – and probably hated his job. He would seem much more natural bashing street punks than standing behind a podium lecturing on the simple beauty of _The Tale of Genji_. Unfortunately for the late trio, he seemed much more apt to act on the first description immediately after being interrupted conducting the second.

Shizuma broke the uneasy silence that followed, staring pointedly at Watanbe. "Dude," he said simply, as if commenting on a game to a friend, "did you get fatter over break?"

Ryoko groaned and slapped her forehead, while Hitomi's eyes widened and she hid behind the samurai girl. Watanbe's face turned a bright red, the color spreading across his bald head, while a pale vein pulsed furiously across his forehead. Shizuma just stood where he was, shoving his now free hand into his pocket.

"Uh . . . Watanbe-sensei . . . er . . . you see . . ."

"Sit down, Yuki-san," Watanbe snapped, causing Hitomi to whimper and dash to her seat, any confidence she had developed earlier deteriorating in an instant.

Watanbe turned his attention back towards Ryoko and Shizuma, eyes narrowed. Every since the instigation of the K-Fights, Watanbe felt like education became less and less important to the children. There was a handful of "good ones," though he worried for those like Hitomi, with fight-aholic friends. The ones that fought always had stronger personalities, and in a school like this, where no one cared as students brawled, the fighters always corrupted the scholars.

If only Satome had not failed last year. The idiot could not defeat some street punk like Shizuma, and just lowered the short bar of respect for the teachers. Watanbe glared at Shizuma as these thoughts buzzed through his mind. The room was silent, and every student uneasily still. No one wanted to set off anything.

Finally, Watanbe stepped towards the delinquents, pushing through the thick tension.

"What makes you think you can just waltz in here late?" he asked slowly, voice grating on the air. "Not only are you disrespecting me, you are disrupting your fellow students, making it harder for them to learn."

"Well, actually," Ryoko piped in, heedless of the fact that she had interrupted the teacher, "I think that if you hadn't said anything, and we just walked in quietly like we were trying to, we would have 'disrupted' them much less." She mimed quotation marks at the word "disrupted," drawing giggles from the entire class, even Hitomi, while earning herself a harder glare from Watanbe.

"_Not only that_," Watanbe growled through his clenched teeth, trying to act as though he could not be bothered to acknowledge Ryoko's interruption, "but I bet that you haven't even opened your textbooks. Am I right?"

Ryoko's face fell as little and she shifted from foot to foot, embarrassed blush across her face answering for her. Shizuma just shrugged and shook his head no. He had better things to do with his time than read a soap opera about some spoiled prince, but he did not have time to voice his opinion.

"So I don't even have to bother drilling you with questions. I can just give you a failing grade now."

Ryoko started. "But that's not fair! We weren't scheduled for any grades today!" she protested vehemently, eyes wide. She had never had the best scores, but she never _failed_ anything. And she didn't want to start on the first day of her senior year.

"What's not fair is the fact that you think you can just walk in late without consequence," Watanbe retorted, eyes narrowing. "I'm entitled to issue pop quizzes whenever I feel the need to test my students, and I feel that need right now."

"Dude! Not cool, Watanbe!" Shizuma yelled, comical frown spread across his face. "Challenge us to a K-Fight or something, but don't diss us for something so stupid!"

"Consider this a K-Fight, Kusanagi," Watanbe snapped back. "K-Fights do not need to be simple street brawls. Looks like you'll be losing the first K-Fight of the year." A cruel grin spread across Watanbe's face. This was where Satome had failed – he stooped down to their level. The teachers had to stay up in their ivory towers and send down punishment in order to keep the caste at status quo.

He was finally on his way to instilling order, starting at the very top.

Shizuma's jaw dropped and Ryoko's eyes widened more. Could they both lose their first K-Fights? The first K-Fights of the school year? Could they be forced into humiliation for so slight a transgression?

Ryoko's mind raced while Shizuma went slack-jaw on her. Watanbe had not actually challenged them yet, had he? No. If she challenged him first, she could manipulate the situation. Watanbe would not agree to a brawl, so he was likely to turn down her challenge unless she clarified that she would make it an academic challenge. But what sort of academic anything could she hope to win against a teacher? She swallowed hard as she prepared herself to step up to the plate and ad lib from some half-hearted starting point.

"I challenge you to a non-physical K-Fight, Watanbe-sensei."

Ryoko started mouth slightly open as she found her words sapped right out of her mouth. She looked around for the soft voice.

Hitomi stood up shakily.

"If I win, you let this incident slide. If you win, you can give all three of us failing grades, and give me a failing grade for the semester."


	3. Go K Fight!

_Oh my goodness, the Kitsune making an author's note? Surely it's the end of the world. Anyhow, she hopes you enjoy the chapter, but apologizes that it's... probably not what most would think for a first K-Fight. Kitsune promises that future chapters will have a good deal more action, so if you liked the premise but don't like this chapter, please at least give the next one a chance. Thank you very much for reading._

Chapter Three

Go K-Fight!

---

Hitomi sounded confident as her quiet, calm voice broke through the tense air, but she trembled. If Watanbe accepted, he could choose the type of match they would have. She had a much better chance than Ryoko or Shizuma, but there was still a good chance that Watanbe would come up with something that would stump her.

But it was a chance she was willing to take if she could help her friends.

It took everyone in the room several moments to understand what had just happened. Soft-spoken, submissive Hitomi was standing up to the most imposing teacher at Daimon High. Most students would accept the most ridiculous punishments from him because it meant spending less time around him. Hitomi had no direct conflict with Watanbe – she was stepping up to him on her own accord. She was crazy.

So the students began to applaud.

Watanbe's face turned red. He was beginning to lose control of the room, lose the attention of the students. He glared at Hitomi quietly for several moments. She was more corrupt than he thought – he would have to disregard how sorry he felt for her and crush her. He could not step away from this K-Fight, absurd as it would be, or else he would lose the students even more.

"Fine," he barked, stepping towards the small student and towering over her. "Then you shouldn't mind the challenge being based on your summer reading. This L-Fight will revolve around The Tale of Genji." Watanbe grinned – Hitomi was a good student, and she had most likely finished her homework at the beginning to the summer. Watanbe had just reread it before class started. Details from the text would become his advantage, and his victory would have a much greater impact.

Hitomi looked squarely up at Watanbe. A slight frown tugged the corners of her lips down as she gave a little gulp. "I don't mind, Watanbe-sensei . . . but could we avoid questions about the poetry?"

"Hitomi, you idiot!" Ryoko shouted, voice finally jumping out of her throat, overcoming her shock.

Watanbe grinned and waved Ryoko back. "Why, Yuki-san, the poems were my _favorite_ part. I must concentrate on them," he said though a false smile. The contest was completed and won already in his mind. "In fact, I was planning on the challenge being this: one contestant first recalls a poem from the novel. If he can do that correctly, the other must decide who wrote the poem, and for whom it was written." The panic could be heard sweeping across the classroom. "The first person to either recite a poem incorrectly or give the following answer incorrectly loses."

Now Ryoko's face fell into nervousness, even for the crafty smile Hitomi gave as she mumbled, "I accept."

"Aya-san, get my copy of the text. It has all the poems marked. You will check our recitations and answers if a dispute arises."

A small, frail girl slowly nodded, though she returned with the book reluctantly. Everyone wanted Hitomi to win, but now, no one believed that she could. She was intelligent – but how could she outsmart a teacher in his own subject, especially when she had so casually given away her weakness?

Only Shizuma seemed unfazed. Still standing beside Ryoko, he grinned down at her and clapped her on the shoulder. "You ain't _scared_, are you?"

With a start, Ryoko looked up. She scowled at Shizuma – stupid monkey. Always so naïve. She crossed her arms and looked away from him. "Of course I am," she huffed, "There's a lot at stake, you know."

"Well, sure I know. Buy don't'cha trust Hitomi?"

"What!" Ryoko barely kept herself from cursing and glared at Shizuma, arms thrown out and fists clenched. "How dare you! Of course I trust Hitomi!"

"Then why so nervous?"

"Because she's a kind woman, not a ruthless fighter! She's already gotten herself in too deep – she shouldn't have stepped up in the first place! She-"

"-will be fine," Shizuma grunted, rolling his eyes. "I betcha she knows what she's doing, so just chill out. Have some faith, Sasquatch."

Ryoko pulled back her fist, finally ready to deck the idiot, when she caught sight of Hitomi's face. Her fist froze. Now that the K-Fight was about to start, Hitomi looked much more confident. She flashed Ryoko a bright smile, all the worries etched across her face gone. The samurai girl stared hard at her gentle companion. Was that the fire of a fighting spirit she could see in Hitomi's eyes? She felt conflicted about what she saw – part of her wanted innocent Hitomi back, not see her fight.

Watanbe seemed to have noticed the change as well, a small look of confusion twitching across his face. Neither he nor Ryoko, however, had much time to contemplate the thought further.

"Gooooood morning, Daimon High!" yelled a high, enthusiastic voice. Within moments, Natsumi Fujishima and her gang had burst into the classroom. Microphone in hand, the blonde girl smiled cheerfully and assessed the situation. No one dared to ask just how they had found out about the K-Fight.

A team with two cameras, an extra mike, three referees, two reporters, and a nurse-in-training set up around the class. Natsumi wasted no time in catching up the rest of Daimon High with what she had just, somehow, learned.

"This is Natsumi Fujishima, dedicated as always to bringing you the latest K-Fight news, on site with this year's first K-Fight!" Her clear voice rang throughout the entire school, and everyone stopped to listen. "It seems reigning champion Ryoko Mitsurugi and close-second Shizuma Kusanagi arrived late to school to Watanbe-sensei's class. His threats, however, were met by bright Hitomi Yuki! This means that our first K-Fight is between Japanese Literature Instructor Kusari Watanbe and quiet genius Hitomi Yuki!"

Hitomi looked down and blushed at the introductions blared across the classroom. Watanbe, however, looked far from flattered, fists clenching tightly at his side. Before he could get a word in edgewise, the relentless emcee continued on.

"This is a K-Fight of the minds – no punches shall be exchanged . . . not yet, at least! This battle of wits revolves around The Tale of Genji – which everyone should have read at least a snatch of by now! A clash of the famous 795 poems! Though not physical, this promises to be a rough match – neither contestant will give in easily!"

As she rambled on, two of her free-handed helpers cleared the students away from the middle of the class, set up a podium for Kansai Aya, put up two chairs for the contestants, sat them down, and trained the cameras on them. Their work done, they faded into the background as a spotlight from a camera brightened the two K-Fighters.

"Annnnd – it's time to begin!"

Watanbe was quite obviously perturbed by the fiasco rising around them, but he glared steadily at Hitomi. Even if she knew more than she had let on, he knew he could beat her. This was his class, after all, and no student would surpass her teacher. An arrogant grin found its way to his face. "You first, then, Yuki-san."

Folding her hands in her lap, Hitomi merely smiled in response. She gave a quiet nod and closed her eyes, recalling every word she had read. "_Now the end has come_," she recited in a clear voice, "_and I am filled with sorrow that our ways must part; the path I would rather take is the one that leads to life_." As soon as she finished the poem, soft applause broke out across the room. Her gentle voice echoed as it she were every young woman from the tale.

Watanbe scowled. Sure, she sounded pretty, but she obviously had little idea of what she was doing. "The first poem, Yuki-san? I had expected a little more from you. His Majesty's love from Kiritsubo, mother of Genji, to His Majesty, father of Genji. I-"

"And the first round passes with no victory! In a perhaps poor move on her part, Hitomi recites the-"

"Would you shut up!" Watanbe barked, snapping a cold glare on the emcee. "I don't think the student body needs a play-by-play on the discussion of poetry!"

Natsumi frowned, shrinking back. She knew he was right, of course – but what was she supposed to do during the challenge? She lowered her mike, pouting, but remained silent and nodded.

"Better." Watanbe turned back to Hitomi. "_Following the path I trusted I would take me to a teacher of the Law,_" he said without ceremony, "_I lost my way and wandered a mountain I never sought_."

Hitomi pushed her glasses up, nodding once. "The final poem. The Commander in a letter to his love, the nun."

Natsumi sighed and remained silent.

"_I who give my all for your love have my reward, for to find you here,_" Hitomi said in a deeper voice than before, "_Where so deep a channel runs, proves the power of our bond_."

Frowning at the thought that Hitomi might indeed know a good many of the poems, Watanbe's face slipped into an impassive visage, and he replied coldly. "Genji, to Akashi." When no commentary cut through from Natsumi, he recited his next poem without a thought. "_Lost in my sorrows I never knew months and days were still passing by – is the tear really over, and my time, too in the world?_"

With her smile growing steadily, Hitomi responded confidently. "Genji to the sate before his decree and before his death, inspired by his young Prince." She shifted lightly in her seat and took up a much younger sounding voice. "_Why you should complain I have no the least idea, and that troubles me: who then, is the kin you mean, and what plant have you in mind?_"

"Murasaki's first poem, to Genji," Watanbe replied, voice noticeably more rushed. "_Even as I mourn not knowing whether that dream means another night, endless time seems to go by while my eyelids never close._"

And so the challenge went. Each passing poem put Watanbe more on edge, while calming Hitomi further. The two recited ten poems, then fifty, and soon surpassed one hundred. Many students had stopped paying attention and were off in small groups to catch up with friends, only caring about the final results of the K-"Fight." Natsumi continued to listen, but was leaning forward in her chair and about ready to doze off. Even Kansai, flipping through the book as disputes arose, was beginning to look bored.

Ryoko still stood tense, however, eyes never leaving Hitomi. It seemed like either contestant could win, now, but she still feared for her friend. It was not in her nature to fight, even mentally. She wanted to rush in and whack Watanbe a good one, but she had to remain still and in the background. Shizuma had, predictably, fallen asleep next to the samurai. She thought he was being rude, obnoxious, and his usual idiotic self.

Monobrow was merely feeling confident.

"_Now that I have seen faintly the flower's color through the gathering dusk,_" Watanbe rasped through clenched teeth as he recited the one hundred and twenty-eighth poem of the challenge. "_I can hardly bear to leave while morning mists still rise_."

Hitomi merely flashed him a warm smile for the sixty-fourth time and responded easily. "His Reverence to his love, a nun." The quiet girl then tucked back a strand of hair, rose her head, and spoke in such a hauntingly soft and beautiful voice that everyone looked to her, certain that the recitation was important.

"_It has been my lot to inhabit once again this world of sorrows, yet in the moonlit City, nobody will ever know_."

Watanbe, who had also been waiting for something significant to happen, merely snorted. "Ukifune, in writing practice," he responded gruffly. "_You whose priv-_"

"Wait," Hitomi very quietly, very carefully cut him off, bringing her hands up slowly. "But you did not say form whom the poem was composed."

With a roll of his eyes, Watanbe conceded with an expounded answer. "Ukifune wrote it in practice word-smithing when lonely. It was, therefore, written to herself. Now, for me-"

Hitomi shook her head. "No. That is incorrect."

The entire class (save, of course, for Shizuma) turned their attention to the K-Fight's conclusion.

Turning beet red, Watanbe glared at Hitomi. That insolent student, questioning _him_! Before he could verbally assault her, however, she stood to continue her line of thought. "Ukifune did, yes, write the poem as practice. She composed it, however, for the sky."

Watanbe was soon on his feet as well, muscles trembling with erupting anger. "That is-"

Natsumi cut him off at the first possible moment.

"There you have it, K-Fight fans! It seems as though Watanbe-sensei has been beaten at his own subject – at his own specialty in the subject! This is amazing, people – Hitomi comes through with a surprising win! I-"

"I object," Watanbe bellowed, fists clenching tightly. "That is the most pitiful reasoning for-"

"I think it's perfectly sound reasoning." A quiet gasp rippled through the class, and everyone, even Watanbe, turned to its source. Principle Todo stood in the doorway, eyes obscured as always by his sunglasses and a grin across his face. "I think it proves Hitomi's mastery of the poems over yours, actually."

Watanbe started, eyes widening. "But, sir-"

"But nothing, Kusari. She looked deeper into the text, studied its words further, and learned something you missed. Hitomi Yuki, therefore, is the winner."

"It's official! By ruling from Principle Todo, we have verification that Hitomi Yuki is the winner! The first K-Fight of the year sees the defeat of rough teacher Watanbe and victory of quiet Hitomi! This is one for the records, everyone, and you heard it here first!"

Loud applause broke out across the room, mixed with cheers and hoots and general jubilance. Ryoko wasted no time rushing forward and throwing her arms around her closest friend, picking her up in her enthusiasm. Hitomi flushed pink and laughed, returning the hug.

"You did it, Hitomi! You won the first K-Fight! You were amazing!"

When Hitomi finally had both feet back on the ground and could breath once again, she just blushed more and looked down. "Not really . . . I just knew something he didn't, that's all. It's not as great as the things you do."

A lopsided smile crossed Ryoko's face as she shook her head. Ruffling Hitomi's straight, black hair, the samurai laughed and patted her friend on the shoulder. "It's just as great as what I do, if not more. I just hit things. That was amazing."

Before Hitomi could continue being embarrassed and Ryoko could continue to flatter her, Watanbe stormed up. Already over his shock and moving on to a more dangerous emotion – anger – he looked prepared to tear the two apart. He could not get a word in, however, before Shizuma yanked him back.

"You lost, man," Shizuma said curtly, glaring at the teacher. "Just-" The bell rang, calling the students to their next classes and cutting Shizuma off. He grinned. "Well, guess I don't hafta worry 'bout rearrangin' your face. 'Til next time, 'least." He dropped his hold on the man's suit. "See ya around."

Turning back to Ryoko and Hitomi, he gave a bright smile. "Awesome job, Hitomi!"

Hitomi was achieving new shades of red as she blushed more. "Th-Thanks."

"Not that you would know," Ryoko sniffed, crossing her arms. "You were asleep through most of it!"

With a laugh, Shizuma just shrugged. "Yeah, well, I just figured what would happen." He punched Ryoko in the arm, then turned. "C'mon – I don't wanna be late for another class!"


End file.
